"Yes," I replied without hesitation.
"I need two hundred F Rank monster cores and two hundred F+ Rank monster cores."
After doing a quick calculation in my head, that amount should be enough to strengthen and rank up several of my undead summons.
"Certainly, sir," the Elena replied with a polite smile before turning toward one of her assistants. "Bring the requested goods immediately."
The assistant quickly bowed and hurried away.
While we waited, the Elena looked at me curiously.
"Sir... are you perhaps new to this city?"
"Hm?"
I frowned slightly before asking back, "Is answering that question necessary?"
"No, sir." She shook her head with an apologetic smile. "It was simply my curiosity."
Then her expression became more professional again.
"Still, if sir visits any other city in the future, please consider using our Merchant Guild. We always provide fair prices, and valued customers may even receive discounts."
I simply nodded lightly.
A few minutes later, several assistants returned while carrying storage boxes filled with monster cores.
I immediately stored everything inside my inventory.
After completing the transaction, that’s 300 silver but with 5% discount it become 285 silver coins.
Balance: 19.3 Silver coins.
I left the Merchant Guild and headed directly toward the Adventurer Guild.
But the moment I entered the building, my expression changed slightly.
Strong auras filled the hall.
I could immediately sense more than twenty F+ Rank adventurers gathered inside the guild.
When I looked around carefully, I noticed several fully formed adventurer teams occupying different tables throughout the hall.
Most teams consisted of normal F Rank members.
However, nearly every group was being led by at least one F+ Rank adventurer.
"Looks like the monster tide really is affecting this place..." I muttered inwardly.
Normally, a small border city like this shouldn’t have so many strong adventurers gathered together.
Without wasting time, I walked toward the mission board.
But while I was checking through the available quests, someone nearby stared at him with obvious hostility.
The gaze was so intense it almost felt like that person wanted to erase him from existence.
His teammates quickly noticed his expression.
"What happened?" one of them asked.
"That bastard..." the blond man muttered through gritted teeth while glaring toward Luke.
"He’s trying to get between me and Rose."
It was the same blond adventurer from earlier.
Several nearby adventurers also noticed the situation and glanced toward Luke, who was calmly browsing the mission board without understanding what was happening.
"Ahh, now I remember," one adventurer suddenly said in a mocking tone loud enough for others to hear. "That kid interrupted Kevin while he was talking with Rose earlier."
The blond man—Kevin—heard that clearly, and his expression immediately darkened further.
Meanwhile, I looked genuinely confused.
Interrupted?
"When did I interrupt their conversation?" I thought while frowning slightly.
"I only verified my quest like everyone else..."
But before I could think further, another adventurer muttered nearby,
"Poor kid. He looks young too."
"Yeah... the last guy was young as well."
What?
My confusion deepened instantly.
At that point, I decided to directly ask someone instead of trying to guess the situation himself.
So I walked toward the table where several adventurers were casually talking among themselves.
As I approached, the group looked up at me with confused expressions.
Their faces practically said:
"What does this kid want?"
"Hello," I greeted calmly before placing one silver coin onto the table.
"Can someone explain what’s going on?"
The moment the silver coin landed on the table, the atmosphere immediately changed.
One of the men casually grabbed the coin before smiling.
"Sit down, brother."
He pulled out a chair for me.
After sitting, I quickly observed the group.
Two men.
Three women.
Based on their equipment and appearance, they looked like a fairly wealthy and experienced adventurer party.
One man appeared to be a tank-type fighter covered in heavy armor, while the other looked like a rogue.
The three women seemed to fill the roles of Lancer, Dual Swordswoman, and archer.
A balanced five-person party.
Meanwhile, Kevin continued glaring at Luke from a distance.
I ignored him completely.
Interestingly, the party sitting before me also didn’t seem intimidated by Kevin at all.
Probably because their tank is an F+ Rank adventurer himself.
The rogue leaned back slightly before speaking.
"Well, normally most men avoid getting close to Rose because of her status... and because of Kevin’s obsession."
I blinked.
"Wait... status?"
"Isn’t Rose just a normal receptionist?"
The moment those words left my mouth, all five adventurers stared at me with strange expressions.
Even several nearby adventurers looked at me the same way.
Like they were staring at some clueless country bumpkin.
I frowned.
"Why is everyone looking at me like that?"
The rogue almost laughed.
"Brother... look at her."
"Red hair. Unreal beauty. And an F+ Rank aura."
He shook his head while looking at me like he had just heard the dumbest thing imaginable.
"Do you seriously think that’s normal?"
My expression changed slightly.
Not because of the beauty part.
Or the red hair.
After all, I am still unfamiliar with this world and human society here. For all I knew, unusual appearances could simply be common.
But one detail shocked me.
"F+ Rank...?"
"How did I not notice that earlier?"
Then the rogue casually dropped another bombshell.
"She’s also the daughter of the Adventurer Guild Master."
My eyes widened slightly.
The Guild Master is an E+ Rank powerhouse.
Even I had already heard rumors about him.
And Rose is his daughter?
But before I could fully process that information, the rogue continued.
"And she’s also the holder of a Rare-Class."
I stiffened again.
"A Rare-Class...?"
However, this time I quickly controlled my expression.
’System, what is a Rare-Class?’ I asked inwardly.
[Host, Rare-Class is the third level within the class hierarchy.]
The system answered immediately.
[Class Hierarchy:]
[Common]
[Uncommon]
[Rare]
[Epic]
[Heroic]
[Legendary]
[Mythical]
[Divine]
[For a small and backward region where F+ Rank is considered near the pinnacle, a Rare-Class holder is extremely abnormal.]
The system sounded slightly curious now.
[Perhaps she originally came from a larger city or noble background and was merely brought here temporarily for "life experience."]
[After all, a Rare-Class holder possesses the natural potential to eventually reach D-Rank with far less difficulty than ordinary people.]
I silently absorbed the information.
"I see..."
Meanwhile, the rogue continued explaining.
"After learning about her, Kevin started chasing after her the moment she arrived in village."
"But she rejected him multiple times already."
"So his name is Kevin..." I muttered quietly.
The rogue smirked.
"Since he can’t do anything directly to Rose because of her father, he instead targets any man who gets close to her."
His eyes shifted toward me.
"Which now includes you."
I finally understood the situation.
"...Ridiculous."
"Thanks for the information," I said before standing up.
Then I calmly walked back toward the mission board.
After scanning through the available quests, I selected ten F+ Rank monster hunting missions.
Because of the recent monster tide, many F+ Rank monsters had begun appearing near the village.
And more importantly—
I also wanted to increase mine adventurer rank quickly.
The moment people noticed the quests he selected, many adventurers stared at him in shock.
After all, Luke’s visible aura was only F Rank.
But after noticing Kevin glaring at him from nearby, most people quickly looked away.
In their minds, Luke is already dead anyway.
Either the monsters would kill him...
Or Kevin would.
I ignored their reactions and walked toward the reception desk.
"Here. I’d like to register these quests."
Rose looked slightly surprised after seeing the stack of missions.
"Are you sure about this?" she asked carefully.
I smiled lightly.
"Yeah. One hundred percent."
"And thanks for worrying about me."
Rose blinked in confusion.
"When did I—"
"BAM!"
A loud noise suddenly echoed through the guild hall.
I turned around briefly and saw Kevin slamming his fist onto a table while glaring at me furiously.
I simply smiled before turning back around.
Kevin’s face twisted with rage.
"Bastard..." he muttered.
One of Kevin’s F+ Rank teammates placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Relax."
"If the monsters don’t kill him first... we will."
The others nearby smirked darkly.
Then one of the party members suddenly spoke.
"By the way, I found out where he’s staying."
Kevin looked toward him immediately.
"Where?"
"The Happy Home Inn."
"And?"
A twisted grin appeared on the man’s face.
"There’s also a really beautiful woman staying there."
"Her name’s Lily and she is daughter of the inn owner."
The man licked his lips shamelessly.
"When I saw her body... especially those curves... I almost lost control."
Several party members immediately became interested.
"And I even saw her smiling and talking with that brat earlier."
His grin widened further.
"So how about we prepare a little ’gift’ for him?"
"A mature woman personally trained by professionals like us."
Kevin’s eyes lit up instantly.
"Heh... not bad."
"It’s been a while since I had fun with a woman."
Even the others began laughing darkly.
However, the F+ Rank adventurer among them remained calmer than the rest.
"There are still guard patrols moving around during the day," he said quietly.
"Wait until night."
"Besides..."
He glanced toward Luke’s departing figure.
"If that brat actually survives after taking so many quests, he’ll probably return exhausted or late."
A few seconds later—
Loud laughter erupted from Kevin’s table.
Several nearby adventurers glanced toward them curiously, wondering what was so amusing.
Meanwhile, Luke had already left the Adventurer Guild completely unaware of the conversation that had just taken place behind him.
And more importantly—
He had no idea that something terrible was about to happen to Lily.